Fire guts ancient part of Bangladesh’s capital, killing 67
DHAKA, Bangladesh — A devastating fire raced through densely packed buildings in a centuries-old district in Bangladesh’s capital, killing at least 67 people, officials and witnesses said Thursday. The fire in Dhaka’s Chawkbazar area was mostly under control after more than 10 hours of frantic firefighting efforts. About 50 people...
Police: Texas man confessed in hammer death of daughter, 2
ORANGE, Texas — A police affidavit says a Southeast Texas man found naked and stained with blood told officers that he killed his 2-year-old daughter, who had been bludgeoned with a hammer . The affidavit says an officer’s body camera captured 26-year-old Yovahnis Roque confessing Tuesday in the death of...
Study finds spike in Pennsylvania child abuse-related deaths
HARRISBURG — A new study says the number of Pennsylvania children killed or nearly killed after abuse had occurred spiked recently, likely driven by changes to state law and heightened awareness in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky and Roman Catholic clergy child sexual abuse scandals. The state Human Services...
Trump’s inaugural team scrambled to defend staff and record haul
NEW YORK — The leaders of President Trump’s inaugural committee saw trouble coming and tried to get ahead of it. It was January 2018, a year after the black-tie balls and candlelight dinners in Washington. Journalists were asking questions about how the Presidential Inaugural Committee had raised — and spent...
Woman dead after driver plows into family in suburban N.Y.
HAVERSTRAW, N.Y. — Police say an enraged driver plowed his car into a family of eight, including a baby and five children, outside a store in Rockland County Wednesday, killing a 32-year-old woman and injuring several others. Police believe an argument between the family and the driver, identified as 35-year-old...
United Methodists confront possible split over LGBT issues
The United Methodist Church’s top legislative assembly convenes Sunday for a high-stakes, three-day meeting likely to determine whether America’s second-largest Protestant denomination will fracture over divisions on same-sex marriage and the ordination of gay clergy. While other mainline Protestant denominations — such as the Episcopal and Presbyterian (U.S.A.) churches —...
Mueller appears to be wrapping up 2-year investigation
WASHINGTON — Justice Department officials are preparing for the end of special counsel Robert Mueller’s nearly two-year investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and believe a confidential report could be issued in coming days, according to people familiar with the discussions. The special counsel’s investigation has consumed Washington...
Tortoise feared extinct found on remote Galapagos island
LIMA, Peru — A living member of species of tortoise not seen in more than 110 years and feared to be extinct has been found in a remote part of the Galapagos island of Fernandina. An adult female Chelonoidis phantasticus, also known as the Fernandina Giant Tortoise, was spotted Sunday...
Man dragged to his death after clothing gets caught on New York subway train, police say
A man was dragged to his death by a New York City subway train Tuesday evening, authorities said. The man was standing near the edge of the subway platform when the incoming train caught hold of an article of clothing and pulled him into the tunnel, a New York Police...
Coast Guard lieutenant planned widespread terror attack, prosecutors say
A U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant and self-identified white nationalist has been arrested after federal investigators uncovered a cache of weapons and ammunition in his Maryland home that authorities say he stockpiled to launch a widespread domestic terrorist attack targeting politicians and journalists. Christopher Paul Hasson called for “focused violence” to...
Jussie Smollett charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly filing false report about attack
“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett has been charged with disorderly conduct after he allegedly filed a false police report about an attack he said occurred as he walked to his apartment building in the Streeterville neighborhood last month. The charge, a felony, was announced by the Cook County state’s attorney’s office...
Avonmore native had a head for numbers, passion for polkas
Henry Stapinski’s skill with numbers provided him a livelihood, while a passion for his Polish roots provided him years of enjoyment with his family. The son of immigrants from Poland, Mr. Stapinski liked to socialize at the Polish National Alliance club in Avonmore when he wasn’t working as an accountant....
W.Va. teachers end strike after no action on doomed bill
CHARLESTON — Unions for West Virginia teachers ended their two-day strike Wednesday night after lawmakers did not act on a doomed, broad-based education bill. Leaders of three unions representing teachers and school service personnel said at a news conference that classrooms would reopen statewide on Thursday. The House of Delegates...
Gory details emerge about Kelsey Berreth’s suspected demise
DENVER — After months of mostly silence from authorities investigating the disappearance of a Colorado mother on Thanksgiving Day, grim details about her suspected demise emerged this week, including accusations that the woman’s fiance beat her to death with a baseball bat while their baby was in the next room....
Pope Francis skips meeting with survivors on eve of Vatican clergy abuse summit
Clergy sexual abuse survivors were left waiting for answers Wednesday as an international mix of Catholic Church leaders gathered in Rome to address the child sexual abuse scandal that has rocked parishes around the world — including Western Pennsylvania. Calls for an apology to survivors, an acknowledgement of their pain,...
U.S. says Alabama woman who joined Islamic State can’t return
WASHINGTON — An Alabama woman who left home to join the Islamic State group in Syria is not a U.S. citizen and will not be allowed to return to the United States, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday. In a brief statement that gave no details as to...
‘Snow, Hey Oh’: School principals croon cold-weather announcements
By the time late February rolls around, the drudgery of snow days is enough to spark creativity by even the most jaded school superintendents. Wednesday morning’s snowfall forced hundreds of Western Pennsylvania schools to cancel classes, from Jeannette to Ambridge, Greensburg Salem to Laurel Highlands. The National Weather Service office...
Neptune’s newest, tiniest moon likely fragment of bigger one
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Neptune’s newest and tiniest moon is probably an ancient fragment of a much larger moon orbiting unusually close. In the journal Nature on Wednesday, California astronomers shine a light on the 21-mile-wide moon Hippocamp, named after the mythological sea horse. SETI Institute’s Mark Showalter discovered Neptune’s...
After surgery, Michael Cohen’s prison date postponed to May
NEW YORK — A judge has agreed to postpone the start of ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s prison sentence by two months to May 6. New York Judge William Pauley signed off on the delay Wednesday after Cohen’s lawyers said he needed more time to recover from shoulder surgery. They noted...
Nature’s Path Foods recalls some cereals containing gluten
Nature’s Path Foods has recalled some of its cereals because they may contain gluten. The cereals are supposed to be gluten-free. Some boxes of EnviroKidz Choco Chimps, Gorilla Munch and Jungle Munch cereals have been recalled because they may contain undeclared gluten from wheat and barley that could make people...
Google forgot to notify customers it put microphones in Nest security systems
The worst kind of microphone is a hidden microphone. Customers were caught off guard in early February when Google announced its home security system, Nest Secure, would be able to act as an AI-powered Google Assistant after a recent update. “With the flip of a switch in the Nest app,...
Pennsylvania must keep up on voting systems, lawmakers told
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s top elections official is warning that failing to replace voting machines by 2020 could make the state the only one without a voter-verifiable paper trail. Kathy Boockvar, Pennsylvania’s acting state secretary, also told senators Wednesday during an Appropriations Committee hearing that election-security experts agree that moving to...
U.S., North Korean envoys to meet in Hanoi ahead of summit
HANOI, Vietnam — U.S. and North Korean special envoys are to meet in Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, to make final preparations for a second summit next week between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. U.S. Special Envoy for North Korea Steve Biegun was to arrive in Hanoi...
Putin sternly warns U.S. against putting missiles in Europe
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin sternly warned the United States against deploying new missiles in Europe, saying Wednesday that Russia will retaliate by fielding new weapons that will take just as little time to reach their targets. While the Russian leader didn’t say what specific new weapons Moscow could...
Family of Covington teen sues Washington Post for $250 million
The family of the Kentucky teen who was involved in an encounter with a Native American advocate at the Lincoln Memorial last month filed a defamation lawsuit against The Washington Post on Tuesday, seeking $250 million in damages for its coverage of the incident. The suit alleges that The Post...
